Dining out takes a new spin with food halls invading SoCal

Aug. 2, 2014

Updated Aug. 7, 2014 3:44 a.m.

1 of 10

Customers pour over the chalkboard menu at the Kroft at the Anaheim Packing House CINDY YAMANAKA, PHOTOS: CINDY YAMANAKA, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 10

Andrea Young and her husband, Russell, are the pioneers of building culinary walkabouts in Orange County. They created the OC Mart Mix at SoCo and are now developing Union Market in Tustin and Mission Viejo. , MELINA PIZANO, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 10

Braised Short Rib Poutine with brown gravy on a bed of fries and cheese curds is topped with red pickled onions, parsley and a sunny side up egg at The Kroft located in the Anaheim Packing House. The eatery will open a unit at Union Market, a mix of boutique food and retailers around Fall 2014. The Tustin District's Union Market is slated to open in late August. CINDY YAMANAKA, CINDY YAMANAKA, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The Kroft's Porchetta Sandwich features slow roasted pork loin wrapped in pork belly with caramelized onions, arugula and salsa. It is served at the Anaheim Packing House eatery. They offer a variety of speciality sandwich and poutines (Canada's signature dish). The Kroft, one of the most popular new hipster eateries to open at packing house, is also adding a unit at Union Market in Tustin. CINDY YAMANAKA, , CINDY YAMANAKA, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 10

The Kroft owners Hugh Pham, 28, from left, Stephen Le, 32, and Matthew Tong, 32, acknowledge that Le is the boss at their Anaheim Packing House eatery. A second location in another food hall, Union Market in Tustin, is scheduled to open in Fall 2014. CINDY YAMANAKA, , CINDY YAMANAKA, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 10

Fourth Street Market is slated to open later this fall in downtown Santa Ana. Anne Watson Photography

Union Market is part of growing number of “under one roof' Food Halls opening in Southern California. This brand is curated by Andrea and Russell Young of Newport Beach. This Union Market at the Tustin District is slated to open in mid-September. NANCY LUNA, STAFF

Food Hall 101

What it is: Typically built under one roof. Incubator spaces cater to start-up eateries and indie food craftsman looking to bring their unique dishes to a communal space.

Who they are: OC Mart at SoCo in Costa Mesa, Anaheim Packing House, Union Market in The District in Tustin and Kaleidoscope in Mission Viejo (both opening later this year), Fourth Street Market in downtown Santa Ana (opening in fall) and Lot 579 at Pacific City in Huntington Beach (fall 2015).

On a recent Saturday, the Anaheim Packing House buzzes with hipsters queuing up for frozen gelato on a stick, children sipping from hand shaken watermelon lemonades and 40-somethings forking at gravy-soaked fries.

The gourmands of all ages settle into retro-chic communal seats as live music plays inside the pristinely restored wooden fortress.

Welcome to today’s new dining experience: upscale food grazing where no eater is left behind.

“It’s a modern day food court. It touches every generation,” said Hugh Pham, co-owner of The Kroft, a counter-service gastropub at the packing house.

In Southern California, contemporary food halls are sprouting up in long neglected neighborhoods and aging retail centers – from downtown Anaheim to the revitalized Grand Central Market in Los Angeles. The culinary walkabouts have become incubators for passionate chefs creating eclectic fare – Indian street food, steamy Asian hot pots, French macarons on a stick.

More are on the way. Union Market, Fourth Street Market and Lot 579 are coming to Orange County, while The Annex is curating micro eateries in Oxnard.

“Dining is not replaceable by the Internet. It’s a social experience that will continue. And bigger mall operators are starting to talk about food halls,” said Randy Hiatt, president of Fessel International, a Costa Mesa restaurant consulting firm.

Getting in on the ground floor

The Kroft, a fast-casual eatery specializing in Canadian-style poutine dishes and gourmet sandwiches, is among two dozen artisanal food vendors that recently opened at the packing house in downtown Anaheim.

Seeing communal dining as the future, the forward thinking Kroft owners snapped up space for their second restaurant at Union Market in Tustin. Opening in mid-September, the 23,000-square-foot food complex is taking over a closed Borders bookstore at the 7-year-old The District regional center.

Like the Anaheim food hall, it’s divided into several restaurant spaces – ranging in size from 150 to 3,000 square feet.

Though some merchants are boutique retailers, Union Market’s key focus is creating a food-centric village for everyone from “me-first” millennials to cash-rich baby boomers.

“Everyone is looking for the next great restaurant,” said Union Market creator Andrea Young.

Young, and her husband, Russell, are the masterminds behind Orange County’s first modern food hall: The OC Mart Mix (now OC Mix) at South Coast Collection in Costa Mesa.

Having exited that project earlier this year, the Youngs are now focused on building Union Market as a brand – a food complex that has potential to reboot malls and once trendy retail centers across the country.

In the fall, the Youngs are opening a second Union Market at the Kaleidoscope center in Mission Viejo, while others are in the works outside of California.The Newport Beach couple are also consulting on similar projects at Pacific City’s Lot 579 in Huntington Beach and The Annex in Oxnard.

Union Market marks a turning point for the Youngs – who fell into the business of “artisanal food curating” out of necessity.

In 2009, Andrea Young ran a high-end stationary store on 17th Street in Newport Beach. But when the Great Recession hit, making rent was difficult.

Her husband, who ran “turn key” executive suites in Newport Beach, convinced her to move her shop to an office tower down the road on 17th Street in Costa Mesa.

It could have been retail suicide.

But, instead, the reduced rent (roughly $6,000 a month less) kept her afloat. On a hunch, she decided to rent the remaining suites on her floor and sublease them to other retailers.

She called it the The OC Mart.

“Our idea was to create synergy – to have tenants that can share customers,” she said.

Developers of South Coast Collection in Costa Mesa took notice of the savvy retail clustering created by the Youngs on 17th Street.

They tapped them to curate a version of The OC Mart at SoCo, which was undergoing a massive hipster-izing makeover. Inspired by San Francisco’s restored Ferry Building, the Youngs expanded their retail concept to include crafted food.

They called the SoCo location the OC Mart Mix.

One of the first tenants signed was Jeff Duggan, who was running a fledgling gourmet coffee roasting business out of an Irvine bakery.

“Man, I hope people can find me,” he recalls telling himself when he opened at the hard-to-find Costa Mesa center.

But the incubator setting proved to be a winning formula for Portola Coffee Lab, whose lab-coat clad, beaker using baristas made coffee drinking a visual experience.

An oyster bar, a cheese shop, an organic gelato shop and olive oil bar eventually joined the fray.

Chefs, developers clamor for space

Three years after creating The OC Mix, the Youngs are on fire.

Messages pour in from retail developers from Los Angeles to Chicagoclamoring for their expertise in finding crowd-attracting food craftsmen.

“We bring a heartbeat to a big center,” Russell Young said.

Talented but budget-strapped chefs also are vying for their attention.

Many love the idea of keeping pricey Orange County rent fees at bay by taking smaller spaces that range from $4 to $8 per square foot. Some restaurateurs are also sharing prep and kitchen spaces to reduce permitting and construction fees.

The “small is better” strategy has worked for Chef Jenny Ross, who runs the 200-square-foot Lemon Drop juice bar at the Anaheim Packing House.

She said the money she saves on rent is pumped back into her food costs, where high-quality seasonal produce is critical.

“Not having four walls is huge,” said Ross, who also owns the raw food eateries 118 Degrees.

Food halls also allow for customization. Duggan said he’s designing his Union Market space so customers can order coffee directly from a barista counter, similar to a bar.

“They (the food halls) are a blank canvas for tenants to come in and make the space their own,” he said.

More food complexes coming

Other food-centric marketplaces are also taking root in Orange County.

Next year, a beachfront food complex is set to open at the under construction Pacific City retail center in Huntington Beach. Among the named tenants is Bear Flag Fish Co.

In October, downtown Santa Ana property owner Ryan Chase is debuting Fourth Street Market. Early buzz is centering on Electric City Butcher, a European style butcher shop by Michael Puglisi, as well as three new eateries by The Playground’s Jason Quinn. The critically acclaimed Santa Ana chef is opening a burger, ramen and fried chicken concept, Chase said.

“The nice thing about common-roof food centers is you don’t have to settle. You each get what you want,” said Duggan, who is adding a Portola cafe at Fourth Street Market in addition to his two Union Market locations.

But can multiple vendors survive under one roof?

“As long as traffic is sustainable in these places, I think they’ll do quite well,” said industry consultant Hiatt.

So far at the Anaheim food hall, the crowds have not let up – though many visitors have complained about the lack of nearbyparking.

Chris Palaganas, 27, and his friends drove to the packing house from West Covina after hearing social media buzz about the food hall.

At lunch, Palaganas and his friends shared comfort food dishes of fish ’n chips and a grilled chicken sandwich from The Chippy Fish & Grill. Palaganas tested his adventurous palate, nibbling on head cheese from nose-to-tail butcher Wheat & Sons.

For a caffeine jolt, he sipped on cold brew coffee from Cafecito Organico.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.